San José, CA – On Friday, June 15, President Trump signed orders to place tariffs (taxes) on $34 billion of imports from China beginning July 6. The office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) will be imposing tariffs on another $16 billion of imports from China in the near future for a total of $50 billion in imports facing 25% taxes. This represents another turnaround in trade from a few weeks ago, when Trump’s Commerce Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that the trade war was “on hold” after initial negotiation with the Chinese government, which had offered to increase purchases of U.S. goods and further open the Chinese economy to foreign investments.
San José, CA – On Friday, June 1, new U.S. tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum imported from Canada, Mexico and the European Union (EU) went into effect. These countries supply about half of U.S. steel imports. All of the countries responded with counter-tariffs on U.S. exports that will start in a month or less. In addition, the other countries are going to be filing suit with the World Trade Organization (WTO), charging that the U.S. reason of “national security” is just a fig leaf to cover U.S. violation of WTO rules.
New York, NY – Around 50 socialists and community organizers gathered on Sunday, May 6 to celebrate the 200th birthday of Karl Marx – the founder of scientific socialism.
Part three of a three-part interview with Professor Masao Suzuki
This is part three of a three-part interview. Click for part one and part two of this interview.Fight Back!: President Trump seems intent on risking on a trade war with China in order to narrow the U.S. trade deficit. Trump thinks the U.S. trade deficit means that the U.S. is a loser, and by bringing down the trade deficit the U.S. economy will grow by the same amount, creating jobs and income here in the U.S. What do you think?
Part two of a three-part interview with Professor Masao Suzuki
This is part two of a three-part interview. Click for part one and part three of this interview.Fight Back!: In your opinion, what are the main causes of the U.S. trade deficit?
_Part one of a three-part interview with Professor Masao Suzuki _
This is part one of a three-part interview. Click for part two and part three of this interview.Fight Back!: Professor Suzuki, there has been a lot in the news about the Trump administration’s new tariffs and the U.S. trade deficit. How big is it really?
The U.S. stock market fell again Friday, April 6, with the broadest measure, the S&P 500, falling more than 2%. This followed President Trump’s tweet on Thursday that he would ask for a list of an additional $100 billion in imports from China to put tariffs on, raising the total to more than $150 billion. It was also revealed that there are no negotiations between China and the U.S., raising the likelihood of a full-blown trade war.
San José, CA – On March 22, the U.S. stock market staggered with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 700 points or almost 3%. That day, President Trump had fired an opening salvo of trade restrictions aimed at China by announcing steep tariffs on $60 billion of imports from China. He promised that this was just the first of many restrictions on Chinese goods in what could be a new trade war with China.
Masao Suzuki is a leading member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) who follows the economy. Fight Back! interviewed him on March 1, after another drop in U.S. stock market.
To mark the anniversary of the publication of The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Frederich Engels, on Feb. 21, 1848, Fight Back! is reprinting the book’s first chapter. This anniversary comes in the context of a growing rejection of capitalism and a renewed interest in the science of revolution, Marxism-Leninism. Enjoy.Chapter I. Bourgeois and Proletarians
Tampa, FL – Hurricanes are a common experience to most Floridians, especially to residents of the Tampa Bay area, where hurricanes and tropical storms hit or brush by about every two years. However, Category 4 Hurricane Irma, which is now projected to move up the center of the state, is making some of the most seasoned Floridians panic.
Dallas, TX – As of Thursday evening, August 31, most gas stations in the greater Dallas area are out of gasoline. Those that still have fuel are charging as much as triple the usual price.
Tucson, AZ – The Tucson Anti-War Committee has called for an emergency rally on Thursday July 27, at 5 p.m. at the Federal Building located at 300 W Congress Street. This is organized to tell the Trump administration and U.S. Senators like Marco Rubio: “Hands off Venezuela! No sanctions!”
San José, CA – On May 24, Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s Secretary of the Treasury and former Wall Street investment banker for Goldman Sachs, urged Congress to raise the federal debt limit before they go on break July 28. The U.S. Treasury first bumped up against the maximum that the U.S. government can borrow back in March, and has been continuing to borrow by using accounting measures.
St. Paul, MN – More than 100 people rallied at Leif Erickson Park, near the Capitol Green Line Light Rail station, May 16, to voice their opposition to proposed public transit budget cuts and fare hikes. The rally was organized by the Transportation Forward Coalition who has been promoting resistance to Republican budget proposals at the Minnesota state legislature.
Tampa, FL – On the morning of April 7, President Trump ordered the U.S. military to attack Syria, firing over 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Syrian government targets near Homs, Syria’s third largest city. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that only 23 of 59 missiles struck intended targets, with the majority assaulting nearby villages. Syrian media sources are reporting at least nine civilians died in the attack, including four children.
On Jan. 23, President Donald Trump signed an executive action withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. Negotiated by then-president Barack Obama, the TPP would have standardized trade between the U.S., Japan, Mexico, and nine other countries in the Pacific Rim, lowering tariffs and regulations between countries to favor corporations. The agreement drew heavy criticism from labor unions and environmental groups, who argued the TPP would hurt workers and hamper efforts to address climate change.
While Donald Trump claims to be for the working man, his tax proposal is just another Republican tax cut for the rich and big business. The biggest single tax break would be for corporations, whose tax rate would be cut from 35% to 15%. This and other tax cuts for corporations and other businesses would cut federal tax revenue by about $4.5 trillion dollars over the next ten years, or about $450 billion dollars a year. This would mainly benefit the top 1%, who own about half of corporate and business wealth and other high-income individuals who could change their tax status to be a business.
